Search results for " MEDITERRANEAN"
showing 10 items of 1222 documents
Unusually large magmatic CO2gas emissions prior to a basaltic paroxysm
2010
[1] The low-intensity activity of basaltic volcanoes is occasionally interrupted by short-lived but energetic explosions which, whilst frequently observed, are amongst the most enigmatic volcanic events in Nature. The combination of poorly understood and deep, challenging to measure, source processes make such events currently impossible to forecast. Here we report increases in quiescent degassing CO2 emissions (>10,000 t/day) prior to a powerful explosive event on Stromboli volcano on 15 March 2007. We interpret such large CO2 flux as being sourced by passive gas leakage from a deeply (>4 km) stored magma, whose depressurization, possibly caused by the onset of an effusive eruption on 28 F…
Mitochondrial DNA Regionalism and Historical Demography in the Extant Populations of Chirocephalus kerkyrensis (Branchiopoda: Anostraca)
2012
BackgroundMediterranean temporary water bodies are important reservoirs of biodiversity and host a unique assemblage of diapausing aquatic invertebrates. These environments are currently vanishing because of increasing human pressure. Chirocephalus kerkyrensis is a fairy shrimp typical of temporary water bodies in Mediterranean plain forests and has undergone a substantial decline in number of populations in recent years due to habitat loss. We assessed patterns of genetic connectivity and phylogeographic history in the seven extant populations of the species from Albania, Corfu Is. (Greece), Southern and Central Italy.Methodology/principal findingsWe analyzed sequence variation at two mito…
A SMALL INVADER CONQUERS SICILY: AMPHISTEGINA LOBIFERA (FORAMINIFERA: AMPHISTEGINIDAE)
2018
The highly invasive Amphistegina lobifera (Larsen, 1976), a benthic foraminiferal species native to the Red Sea, has colonized the Eastern Mediterranean through the Suez Canal and altered the native community structure. More recently, it has been reported from Malta and the Pelagian Islands within the Sicily channel. Here, we report new records from the southern coasts of Sicily, where we found it abundant both in the soft-bottom sediment and as epiphyt on algae. The occurrence of A. lobifera in Pantelleria and Favignana islands represents the Mediterranean westernmost record of this non-indigenous species.
Cross-cultural Post-colonial Symbioses in Bernardine Evaristo’s Novels and Literary Tourism: Towards a Non-Eurocentric Redefinition of Locality
2010
This essay illustrates the strategies through which literary tourism can activate transformative cultural strategies within the wider context non-Eurocentric definitions of locality.
Postfazione a E. C. Osondu, Quando il cielo vuole spuntano le stelle
2020
The Postface to E. C. Osondu's most recent novel offers a commentary on this Bildungsroman, whose protagonist is a young man from an unknown African country who leaves home behind to reach Europe hoping in a better world. Although narrated in a lyrical tone, the protagonist's epic journey resonates with the actual stories of the uncountable young African men who in the past years have crossed the Black Mediterranean.
Non-Indigenous Species (NIS) within Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The case study of the Aegadian Islands MPA (Sicily, Tyrrhenian Sea) and the Dwejra…
2018
The introduction of non-indigenous species (NIS) has been pointed out as a major threat to biodiversity. NIS may become invasive alien species (IAS) and may cause biodiversity loss and ecosystem service changes. In the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and surrounding islands, also including a high number of Marine Protected Area (MPAs), as a consequence of their geographic position and the intense maritime traffic, is a region particularly vulnerable and prone to NIS invasions. Since frontiers do not exist in the sea, biological invasions may severely affect MPAs, whose major aim is biodiversity conservation. Among the Sicilian MPAs, the Aegadian Islands MPA report the highest number of NIS (19). M…
Implication of the biofilm ageing for the settlement of the vermetid gastropod Dendropoma cristatum (Biondi 1857)
2016
Dendropoma cristatumreefs are key-intertidal habitats of the central Mediterranean. Knowledge onD. cristatumbiology is presently scant, particularly on its early life stage. The development of embryos occurs inside the maternal shell, and the crawling larvae settle on hard substrates shortly after hatching. Epilithic biofilm is known to have implications in the settlement of many marine invertebrates; however whether biofilm plays a role in driving the vermetid settlement is unknown. In this study the microbial assemblage ageing is tested as apotentialtriggerforD. cristatumsettlement. A field experiment was set-up to compare the larval settlement rate on removable limestone cubes (5x5x2 cm)…
Possible impacts of volcanic ash emissions of Mount Etna on the primary productivity in the oligotrophic Mediterranean Sea: Results from nutrient-rel…
2013
Atmospheric deposition of volcanic ash has recently been recognized as an important nutrient source into the surface ocean. Mount Etna (Italy), one of the world's most active volcanoes, is located in the oligotrophic Mediterranean Sea (MedSea). Despite the active volcanism on Mount Etna, the biogeochemical impacts of volcanic ash fallouts on the marine primary productivity (MPP) remain largely unknown. Here we present the results of seawater nutrient release experiments with volcanic ash samples from Mount Etna that have been collected during different eruptive episodes between 2001 and 2007. Our results show that volcanic ash from Mount Etna releases significant amounts of fixed-N (35-855 …
The morphological diversity within a species can obscure the correct identification
2022
Critical points of various diagnostic characters and a paucity of information relating to the geographical distribution of several marine species can hinder real species delimitation, particularly if they are supposed to be cosmopolitan. Such constraints characterize many amphipod species and are mainly due to the variation in morphological characters during growth. Specifically, the benthic filter-feeding corophiid Cheiriphotis mediterranea Myers, 1983 displays different shapes for the male gnathopod 2 as it grows. This variation has hitherto never been described but an extensive sampling has provided us with the opportunity of studying it in detail. More than six thousand individuals, bel…
Settlement performance of the Mediterranean reef-builders Dendropoma cristatum (Biondi 1859) in response to natural bacterial films
2018
The gastropod Dendropoma cristatum is a biogenic engineer of the central Mediterranean, forming reefs along the lower rocky intertidal fringe with a remarkable ecological role. To understand whether reef-associated biofilm cultivable bacterial and biofilm ageing may trigger the settlement of the juvenile snails, a combination of laboratory techniques and field experiments was used. Reef-associated biofilm cultivable bacteria were isolated, and a settlement-choice experiment was performed in situ on artificial biofilms composed of i) a mixture of six biofilm-forming selected isolates, ii) all the cultivable bacteria, and iii) 13-, 23-, 32-day old biofilms formed under naturalconditions. Overall,sett…